Prior application for a national patent covering the same invention as claimed in this application was filed in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on Oct. 8, 1999, under the filing number LU 90453, with the title xe2x80x98Protective cover of leather for stringed musical instrumentxe2x80x99, by HEARFIELD Barry Neil, residing at 19a rue Principale, L-5240 Sandweiler, Luxembourg. Said national patent is currently pending.
Although the present application has been modified to more accurate the instructions set out in the USPTO""s Guide to Filing a Utility Patent Application, the substance of the invention as claimed in the aforementioned national pates application remains unchanged.
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The invention disclosed in this patent application relates to the field of protective covers for stringed musical instruments.
Such protective covers are to be considered of utility as the bodies of stringed musical instruments, during normal usage, handling and transportation of such instruments, are susceptible to scratches, cracks, dents, wear and other damage. Such damage can reduce the useful lifetime of the instruments, reduce, in some cases, their playability and adversely affect their aesthetic qualities.
Some stringed musical instrument bodies, the majority of which are made from wood, are left natural; that is to say they are not provided with any protective finish, leaving the surface of said bodies totally unprotected against the kinds of damage as previously described.
To afford some protection against such damage, manufacturers of stringed musical instruments generally apply a coating of paint, varnish or a similar finish the bodies of such instruments.
Although a coating of paint, varnish or similar finish when applied to the body of a stringed musical instrument affords some protection against such damage as previously described, such coating is itself susceptible to the same kinds of damage, hereby affording only limited protection to said body overall.
Various means of affording further protection for stringed musical instrument bodies have been devised, including those inventions that are claimed in the following U.S. patent documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,642
April, 2000 Brooks
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,094 March, 1998 Moral
U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,149 June, 1993 Tanaka et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,391 July, 1986 Gibbs et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,847 December, 1979 Spindler
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,678 January, 1977 Messina
Such known means of affording further protection for stringed musical instrument bodies against such damage as previously described are of limited effectiveness or viability in that they either
leave parts of said bodies exposed, thus not affording complete protection, or
reduce the playability of said instruments, or
adversely affect the quality of the sounds produced by said instruments, or
compromise the protection claimed by incorporating metal or other hard components such as zippers, which can themselves cause damage to said instrument tees when not adequately separated therefrom, or
require substantial adaptation of the stringed musical instruments themselves at the stage of manufacture of said instruments, thus entailing high costs, or
could be construed as aesthetically undesirable by the musicians for whom said means are intended.
As a result, the vast majority of stringed musical instruments that are currently available at retail level have either no means whatsoever, only limited means, or inadequate means of affording protection to the bodies of said instruments against such damage as previously described.
The object of the present invention is to provide a protective cover for a stringed musical instrument, said cover having the following desirable qualities:
affords substantial protection to the entire surface of the body of said instrument against such scratches, cracks, dents, wear and other damage as can occur during normal usage, handling and transportation of such an instrument
does not substantially affect the playability of such an instrument
does not substantially affect the quality of the sounds produced by such an instrument
does not incorporate metal or other hard components in such a way the said components can damage the body of such an instrument
does not require any adaptation to said instrument itself at the stage of manufacture of such an instrument
is lightweight and durable
has desirable visual and tactile aesthetic characteristics.
The aforementioned object is attained by the invention as claimed in this patent application by virtue of said invention being a protective cover manufactured by hand and/or machine to fit snugly onto the body of a stringed musical instrument in such a way as to completely enclose the visible surface of said body, thereby affording comprehensive protection against such damage as previously described. Said invention comprises one or more specially cut and perforated pieces of leather and a means whereby the protective cover thus formed by said piece(s) of leather can be attached tightly to the body of a stringed musical instrument, as more filly explained in the Detailed description of the invention.